A Tyneside restaurant that served passers-by with bags of rotting waste has been handed its own bill - for #6,000.

Health inspectors found 12 bin liners full of rubbish in a churchyard behind Marco Polo, on Dean Street, Newcastle.

Documents found among the waste led officers to the newly-refurbished Italian restaurant.

Owners Minel Leisure Ltd and its directors John Wade and Timothy John Whiting were hauled before the courts to answer charges of unlawfully depositing waste and failing to prevent the escape of waste.

Mr Wade and Mr Whiting were both cleared of the offences but Minel was hit with a fine of #3,500 and asked to pay costs of #2,674.

It is the second time in as many years the firm has been convicted of failing to keep control of waste coming out of its kitchens.

In February last year it was fined #4,000 with #401 costs by Gosforth magistrates after pleading guilty to four charges, also brought by Newcastle City Council.

The court heard how officers had visited the alley behind Marco Polo and found rotten food and a soft drinks cooler refrigeration unit.

The company was charged with making unauthorised deposits of waste and failing, as a producer of waste, to take all reasonable steps to prevent it escaping their control.

In the most recent case, the bin bags were found in St Nicholas' Churchyard.

Council bins next to them were overflowing with waste and some of the bags on the street were wide open, with rotting food on display to passers-by.

In a joint statement, Mr Wade and Mr Whiting said: "The two cases we lost were related to the company being held liable for the deposit of 12 bags of sealed rubbish next to our waste disposal containers. There was no evidence whatsoever of any harm to the environment.

"Sadly, we are not allowed to put CCTV up on the rear of our building due to its Listed Building status and so could not ascertain how the bags left the containers and were discovered on the ground.

"We must try and improve our systems to see whether such occurrences are caused by wilful vandalism.

"As a matter of course, we now report all instances of interference with our bins to the police.